


Collared and chained

by NYWCgirl



Series: May whump 2020 [12]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Drowning, Dungeon, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Rescue, Torture, water whump 2020, ww-no.12
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYWCgirl/pseuds/NYWCgirl
Summary: An old enemy of Mac has a play date with him.
Series: May whump 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727719
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	Collared and chained

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet is written for the twelfth day of May’s month of whump. The prompt was ‘collared or chained’.

When Mac comes to, he immediately knows he is in trouble. He appears to be in an old fashioned dungeon, it is dark, cold and damp. More worrying is the collar around his neck and the fact that his hands are chained together behind his back.

He searches his memory how he got here, but he doesn´t get much further than this morning when he was out for a run.

There is a sudden noise, something mechanical, and then all of a sudden water starts pouring into his prison. He studies the dark, feeling around and there appears to be a hand pump of some sort. It is fixed to the floor and there are no removable parts. Pumping with his hand behind his back isn´t going to be ideal so he lies down and contorts himself until he is able to pull his hands to the front. He feels around the collar, but it appears to be a chain with a padlock. The water is increasing rapidly so he needs to start pumping. A quick examination confirms there really are no lose parts he can use to get of the chains. Even worse is the fact that the chain is only long enough to get to his knees;

He starts pumping and the water stays put, so the water intake and output seems to have been calculated. He wonders how long he can pump, there are studies a human can push himself to two and a half times his caloric intake, which was none this morning as he planned to have breakfast after returning home from his run.

Oh well, he is fit and hopefully by now Bozer alarmed the Phoenix and they are looking for him.

* * *

Mac’s hands are cramping and his knees hurt, so he sits down for a moment, giving himself some slack in the chain around his neck. Nobody has come to gloat or to his rescue, so he is worried, because every time he gives himself a break, the water rises quickly. So he doesn´t have a choice but to keep going, if he doesn´t want to drown. He is getting colder and colder as the water comes higher and his clothes are getting wetter. He can´t move enough to keep himself warm, so he pumps harder, knowing he is depleting his reserves.

Suddenly he hears what sounds like a door opening and he starts shouting for help.

‘Oh stop it, Macgyver!’

Mac stills when he hears the voice, he will recognize it anywhere.

‘Well, well, Macgyver, you seem to be in quite the predicament.’

‘What do you want, Murdoc?’  
‘Nothing. I just wanted to play and who better to set up a playdate with than my favorite Phoenix employee.’

Mac starts pumping again because the water is up to his chest already.

‘You know where I got the idea for this set-up?’

‘No, but I am sure you are going to tell me.’

‘Oh, it is quite interesting, you will love it. I found myself in Amsterdam for a job and visited the city on one of those tourist tours. And when we passed the Kalvertoren shopping center, the guide explained there used to be a prison for young male criminals, called the Rasphuis. The detainees were made to shave wood from the Caesalpinia echinata tree, rasping it into powder using a rasp. The powder was delivered as a raw material to the paint industry where it was mixed with water, boiled and oxidized to form a red pigment that was used as a textile dye.’

‘Very interesting, but what does it has to do with me and this?’ Mac gestures to the pump.

‘Well, there is a persistent myth that the Rasphuis contained a water dungeon, the so-called Waterhuis or Water home. If prisoners refused to work they were placed in a cellar that quickly filled with water after a sluice was opened, they were handed a pump that enabled them to keep from drowning, provided they pumped energetically and continuously. So here you are.’

Mac groans when a cramp gets hold of his bicep.

‘I guess the cold doesn´t help with your muscle cramps. It will be interesting to see how long you can keep this up.’

Mac only glares at Murdoc, no use in spilling energy.

* * *

Mac wakes with a start when his head dips under water. He must have fallen asleep. Not good. The fact that Murdoc didn´t comment or gloat is also worrying. He starts pumping again, but his whole body protests the movement. He isn´t going to last for much longer.

* * *

It took them more than a day before they received a phone call with coordinates where to find Mac. Jack leads the TAC team inside the abandoned building. It appears to be empty but a noise starts up. It sounds like a pump. But as soon as it starts, it stops again. Jack leads the team towards where he heard the noise. The door is padlocked but one of the agents takes care of it. The room behind the door is filled with water and in the middle of the water is…

‘Mac!’

Jack runs inside, grabbing Mac’s head, but the kid isn´t struggling and when he wants to lift Mac´s head, it is stuck. The chain around his neck is keeping him tethered.

‘Zachary, get your clippers here, NOW8’

The agent is already positioning his equipment. The chain is cut and Mac is pulled outside the room where two agents start CPR. It is clear they want to spare Jack if they can´t bring the kid back. Mac is so pale he appears bluish and his lips are purple. The two agents keep going while two medics appear. They get there gear ready and start pumping air in Mac´s lungs with an ambu-bag.

‘Come on, Mac, don´t do this to Jack.’

When Mac’s body spasms, the medic turns him on his side and water pours out of his mouth while he starts coughing, gagging and choking.

‘Come on, Mac, you can do it, breathe!’ the medic encourages.

When the hacking finally stops, the oxygen mask is replaced over Mac´s face and he is lifted on a back board so the team can quickly carry him to the waiting ambulance with Jack in their tow.

‘OK, let’s blow this popsicle stand and take care of Mac! We will get Murdoc later.’


End file.
